# Bằng: by / with / in in Vietnamese (A1)

> Bằng says how something is done: by which vehicle, with which tool, in which language.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/bang-by-means/ · Updated 2026-11-09

**by / with / in**

Pattern: `đi + bằng + [vehicle] · [verb] + bằng + [tool] · viết / nói + bằng + tiếng + [language] · … bằng gì?`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: bang

*Bằng* says how something is done: by which vehicle, with which tool, in which language. It goes after the verb, and after the thing acted on if there is one, right before the thing you use: *Tôi trả bằng thẻ.* I'll pay by card. *Người Việt ăn cơm bằng đũa.* Vietnamese people eat rice with chopsticks.

For a language, put *tiếng* before the country's name: *nói bằng tiếng Anh* (say it in English), *viết bằng tiếng Việt* (write it in Vietnamese).

To ask how, put *gì* where the answer goes: *Em đi làm bằng gì?* How do you get to work? The answer can repeat *bằng*: *Bằng xe buýt.* With transport, though, people often drop *bằng* and put the vehicle straight after *đi*: *Em đi xe buýt.* I take the bus.

English uses "with" for people and for tools alike, but Vietnamese doesn't. With a person, it's *với*: *đi với bạn*, go with a friend. With the thing you use, it's *bằng*. *Bằng* can also say what something is made of: *bàn bằng gỗ*, a wooden table. And in comparisons it means "as … as": *Em cao bằng chị.* I'm as tall as you.

## A common mistake

✗ Chị nói lại trong tiếng Anh được không?

✓ Chị nói lại bằng tiếng Anh được không?

English says "in English", but to say something in a language, Vietnamese uses *bằng*: *bằng tiếng Anh*, or just the language after the verb: *nói tiếng Anh*. (*Trong tiếng Anh* is for talking about the language itself: *Trong tiếng Anh, từ này nghĩa là …*)

## Examples

- Em đi làm bằng gì? — How do you get to work?
- Dạ, bằng xe buýt. — By bus.
- Người Việt ăn cơm bằng đũa. — Vietnamese people eat rice with chopsticks.
- Chị nói lại bằng tiếng Anh được không? — Could you say that again in English?
- Tôi trả bằng thẻ được không? — Can I pay by card?

## Words in this pattern

- [bằng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/bang-by-means-of/#lx_bang): by means of

## Compare

- [Made of: (làm) bằng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/bang-material/): made of
- [With (a person), and in speech: với](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/voi-with/): with / and

Previous in Places and movement: [At, in, live: ở](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/o-at/)
Next in Places and movement: [đi + place, no 'to': đi Hà Nội, đi chợ, đi làm](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/di-place-no-prep/)

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